Long Island, Metro NY - East End Fishing Reports

Over at Double D Charters in Montauk, Captain Dan reported that a few striped bass are beginning to trickle in. Porgy and sea bass fishing remains strong, while bluefin tuna are still available but becoming more challenging to locate consistently. Offshore mahi action has been excellent.

From the Ebb Tide, they reported an excellent day of fluke and sea bass fishing on the half-day trips. Giuseppe was the standout, limiting out on both trips and winning both pools. “Lt. Dan” also had a strong showing with four fish total, two on each trip, and finished with the second-largest fish on both trips. There was plenty of action with short fish mixed in as well. The Ebb Tide will also be making its fall schedule change, switching back to 3/4-day fluke and sea bass trips, with striped bass added to the mix once they move in. Trips will run from 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. More information is available at EbbTideFishing.com.

Captain Keith from the Fin Chaser reported outstanding bottom fishing over the weekend. On Sunday, September 6th, anglers enjoyed an all-out porgy bite in Montauk, with plenty of doubleheaders and quality fish quickly adding up to a boat limit before the boat headed to Block Island, where anglers put together an excellent haul of jumbo sea bass. Saturday’s trip produced much of the same, with jumbo Montauk porgies filling coolers and limits coming quickly before the boat headed to Block Island. Captain Keith called it some of the best jumbo sea bass fishing of the season so far, with both quality and quantity. Carmine Ferruggia Jr. was among the standouts after boxing limits of both jumbo porgies and jumbo sea bass. On September 5th, the Fin Chaser crew once again started with excellent Montauk porgy fishing before heading to Block Island, where anglers put together another strong haul of jumbo sea bass. Charles Danazar took top honors with a standout catch of quality sea bass. To reserve a trip or find out more, visit MyFinChaser.com or call (516) 643-0940.

Captain John from Fishemlite Charters let me know he will be sailing again for striped bass out of Montauk this month. He will also be adding tautog to the mix once that season opens in October.

Captain Savio from Fishooker Charters reported that Ira and John McCaffrey enjoyed a productive mixed-bag trip with bonito, mahi and sea bass. They kept a few fish for dinner and released the rest.

Mike from the Lazy Bones told me they are continuing to sail fluke trips around the Point and are still putting together good catches. Call ahead for reservations at (631) 500-0580.

Over at Marlena’s Yacht Club, they let me know fluking has been good around the Point, while sea bass fishing remains solid as well. Porgy action has been good over by Rocky Hill, giving bottom fishermen another dependable option. Tuna fishing at Habs has been more hit or miss lately, with some days producing and others requiring more searching.

Will from the Montauk Anglers Club reported that inshore porgy fishing has been excellent, while fluking along the north side is beginning to pick up. Sea bass fishing is decent, with plenty of shorts around but some quality 2- to 3-pound fish mixed in. There are still a ton of bluefish on both the north and south sides, while bonito have been cruising around the Point. False albacore and smaller bluefin are still showing at Habs, and the occasional striped bass is beginning to turn up around the Point as well.

Captain Kenny from My Joyce reported that on September 5th, Steven B. and the boys kicked off their annual Labor Day weekend charter in fine fashion by boxing three beautiful bluefin tuna.

Captain Tom from the Sea Wife IV reported a busy week of mixed-bag action. On Sunday, David Bartkowski, Chris, Christian, Brian, Josh, Ray and Dom put a beating on the bluefish while also catching a pile of sea bass and scup, along with a few nice fluke. On Tuesday, Roger Carmen’s group put together a sea bass limit along with a bunch of quality fluke and scup, with 96-year-old Ed leading the charge. Later Tuesday, Lou, Connor, Mike and Louis caught plenty of bluefish along with a great haul of sea bass, fluke and porgies. On Friday, Bob and Tim Coffey brought the family out for a full day and enjoyed non-stop bluefish action on diamond jigs. The group also boxed a sea bass limit for 11 anglers, along with plenty of porgies and a bunch of fluke. On Saturday, John Leefoon, Cedeno, Ali and Mohamed Ali caught a pile of bluefish, a porgy limit and a sea bass limit. Captain Tom still has open dates available; give him a call at (631) 680-1025 to book a trip.

Mike from Star Island Yacht Club told me it was a somewhat slower weekend as far as reports went, but he assured me there are still plenty of fluke, porgies and sea bass around for anglers putting in the time. They also knew of some bluefish holding along the north side.

Captain Jim from Tailwrapped Sportfishing reported that he is back in the water and sailing again. For more information or to book a trip, call (914) 424-8289.

Captain Mike from Trophy Hunter Montauk Charters reported gator bluefish over 10 pounds being caught on live eels. The fluke bite remains consistent, along with good porgy, sea bass and cocktail bluefish action. A nice tautog was also jigged up and released recently, giving a little preview of what’s coming later this fall. Captain Mike is also expecting albies to arrive any day now. Last year’s North Side albie bite was excellent, and he is hoping for a repeat. The close-range mahi bite has been very good as well, making this a great time for anglers looking for a fall trip with a wide variety of species available.

From the Viking Fleet of Montauk, Captain JR reported another excellent afternoon of catching aboard the Viking Star on September 5th. Sea bass and porgies made up the majority of the catch, along with a few short fluke. Anglers went home with big bags of fish, and Jeannine DiFiore took the pool with a 3.2-pound sea bass. On the Montauk Lighthouse Jumbo Porgies & Knothead Sea Bass trip, Captain Dave reported good fishing aboard the Viking Starship. The trip started down the beach with a nice pick of quality porgies before working back toward the Lighthouse, where anglers found a steady mix of porgies, keeper sea bass, around 20 triggerfish, fluke and cocktail bluefish. Francisco Gomez of Freeport took the first-place pool with a 2-1/2-pound porgy, while Colon Fernandez of the Bronx won the edible pool with a 5-pound bluefish. Give the Viking Fleet a call at (631) 668-5700 or reserve a spot at VikingFleet.com.

Down at West Lake Marina, they reported plenty of porgies over the rocky bottom south of the Point. Fluke and sea bass are still in the mix, although keeper-sized fish have been a little tougher to come by over the past week. Plenty of big bluefish are roaming the north side and in front of the Point. There hasn’t been much word on stripers yet, but they suspect the first better push of fall fish shouldn’t be too far off.

Captain John of the Shinnecock Star let me know Shinnecock Bay is beginning to come alive with plenty of bait and good fluke action. Strip baits have been especially productive lately, particularly because blowfish have been making short work of Gulp baits. For reservations, call the Shinnecock Star at (631) 728-4563.

Bryce from White Water Outfitters in Hampton Bays informed me that fluke fishing continues to hold up well inside Shinnecock Bay. Bluefish action is also strong in the inlet, while a few more striped bass are beginning to show, another encouraging sign that the fall transition is underway. Offshore, yellowfin have been found roughly 25 to 30 miles out, with some bluefin still mixed in. The jig bite has been good on the yellowfin, while trolling has also started to pick up. There has even been a little topwater action for anglers fortunate enough to find fish pushing bait near the surface.

Kenny from Tight Lines Tackle in Southampton told me reports were a little slower over the past week, but there is still plenty going on. Shinnecock Inlet is holding a good number of bluefish running just above cocktail size, while a few tuna have been reported right outside Shinnecock as well. Farther offshore, the Coimbra area has been loaded with yellowfin, while bigeye tuna are being caught out in the canyons. Kenny also heard of a few giant tuna being encountered off Ditch Plains, adding another interesting option for crews willing to put in the time.

Capt. Phil Kess of the Fishy Business in Orient reports excellent bottom and bluefishing on all the trips they have been sailing this week. Some good sessions with striped bass has also been occurring when conditions are right. There are still some dates open for the remainder of the season, however with blackfish season fast approaching now is the time to grab your day which promises to be yet another great blackfish season. To seal the deal give Capt. Phil a call at (516) 316-6967.

Capt. Rich of the Nancy Ann in Orient, reports excellent bluefishing with fish between 3 and 5 pounds and at times gators between 10 and 15 pounds. Striped bass fishing was also very good this week with boat limits of slot fish on every trip. Porgy fishing remains terrific while black sea bass takes a lot of culling to put a few keepers in the box. All in all some real good fishing happening and hopefully will stay that way until the start of blackfish season. Anyone looking for blues and stripers as well as porgies and sea bass have about a month left with a few dates that are still available for the remainder of September and early October for charter. The 2026 blackfish season is all booked up; however, Capt. Rich and Nancy has put together a list of people who would like to fill in for some blackfish charters that are an angler or two short of filling out a charter. If you are interested and able to fill in on a charter on short notice or fill in whenever needed you can give Rich and Nancy a call or text them with the words “Fill In” with your contact info and you will be ready to rock and roll. To join the fill in list or set up a charter give Capt. Rich and Nancy a call at (631) 477-2337.

Capt. Paul Ripperger and Captain Rachel Jannace Johnson of the Tide Hustle in Greenport reports all their patrons are enjoying the “Bonus Season” whereas as of September 1st, creel limits have been increased to 40 porgies and 6 sea bass per person per day and anyone looking to take their limits are easily doing so on the Montauk extended day trips with jumbo porgies to 3 pounds and jumbo sea bass to 4 pounds. In addition to the scup and biscuits is the excellent action with fluke. There are still plenty of shorts around, however most patrons are catching a fair amount of keepers to 5-1/2 pounds to keep everyone smiling. Bottom line, the Montauk trips see bent rods all day long and full coolers of fish for everyone who wants. The family fun trips and the Gardiners Bay trips also see excellent catches of porgies with a mix of black sea bass, triggerfish, weakfish and sand sharks which are a treat for the kids before releasing the baby sharks. The extended Montauk trips will continue for as long as the fluke stick around. As good as the bottom fishing has been, it will only get better as October comes around and then it is off to blackfish season where the fishing promises to be grand judging by the amount of blackfish being caught and released by anglers fishing the reefs for sea bass. The Tide Hustle is sailing from Brick Cove Marina in Greenport every day, weather permitting starting at 7 a.m. and returning back to the dock between 2 and 2:30 p.m. unless they are on an extended trip which returns at 4 p.m. The Tide Hustle is the newest addition of the East End open boat operation and is owned and operated by both Capt. Rachel and her husband Todd Johnson. Open boat trips are limited to 15 anglers with a 100 feet of rail space to roam in. Although walk Ons are welcome when the boat is not filled, a reservation is strongly suggested to guarantee your spot on the rail. The Tide Hustle is also available for charters, also limited to 15 passengers. For further information or to book your spot on the rail you can give Capt. Paul a call at (631) 522-2002 or Captain Rachel at (631) 384-6294.

Craig from WeGo Bait and Tackle in Southold reports loads of baby weakfish have moved into the bay’s and are hitting all the baits on high/low rigs meant for porgies. Most of the weakfish are under 12 inches and must be returned for another day. Porgy fishing has also been excellent inside the bay from Greenport to Jessup Neck. Worms, clams and squid are catching the scup along with kingfish, spot, blowfish and cocktail blues. Outside the bay’s and from Plum Gut to the Race has been good bluefishing along with some attentive striped bass action during the full moon period. Bucktails and skirts on 3x3 rigs has been catching the stripers, while diamond jigs have been jaw breakers for the blues. Out in the Long Island Sound, porgy fishing has been excellent on porgy jigs as well as high/low rigs baited with worms and clams. Sea bass have been plentiful on the reefs on Block Island Sound with some big knot heads mixed in with many shorts. High/low rigs baited with clam and squid catch the bulk of the sea bass, however, working 6 to 8 ounce diamond jigs are catching the larger keeper sea bass. The docks has been seeing good crabbing and good snapper fishing during the early morning hours.